The promise of a game-changing rear-drive car in the pipeline . And now the hope, collaboration and investments between two manufacturers have finally come to glorious fruition here in 2012. But with the mountain of anticipation the Subaru BRZ/ twins have built, would it even be possible for the finished car to meet the inflated, and potentially unreasonable, expectations of the buyer? Would it have the performance? Could it be priced competitively? Would it end up looking like the Autech Stelvio? So many opportunities to drop the ball on the way to the end zone. After pitting the BRZ against what we feel to be its stiffest opposition, we can now confidently affirm that "the game" has been changed.

Subaru has succeeded in defining not only what the BRZ is, but what it is not. It is not a drag-race-winning torque beast, nor is it the fleetest around a road course. It is not a vehicle dependent on fancy torque-vectoring systems or magic roll-eliminating sway bars. It is a car with a rigid chassis designed to be lightweight and engaging, with the lowest achievable center of gravity, which happens to be 0.7 in. below a Porsche Cayman's.

Its suspension is traditional—MacPherson struts up front, double wishbones in the rear—but the damping and kinematics are incredibly well developed. And with the exception of mild teeth-rattling on some of California's rougher highways, we'd probably call it divine. While making our rounds on the racetrack, Kim noted: "The BRZ's greatest strength is in its balance. It's spectacularly easy to drive hard, and very communicative; you always know exactly what the tires are doing, which is often sliding." Subaru says, and we wholly agree, that the tires aren't about huge grip, but enough grip to be effective without sacrificing longevity. "I think it likes being at a 10 degree (oversteer) slip angle." Bailey said, "not a big lurid drift, but a subtle 4-wheel slide that can be controlled all the way to the exit and sometimes beyond just for fun." Gut-check moments in the BRZ will never stem from unpredictable handling, or sloppy mechanical controls, but rather feelings of flying off track from a lack of tire. You might also need a moment to adjust to its higher-effort brake pedal if you're just getting out of a Miata—there's almost nothing more unnerving than thinking your brakes have gone off.

The 200-bhp FA20 flat-4 is legitimately modern—utilizing both port and direct fuel injection—but it's not a marvel of engineering. In fact, some of us found it a little...flat. "There's a dull spot in the torque curve that I doubt you'll be able to fill without the use of forced induction," says Kim. But following our musings for something along the lines of a Honda S2000 inline-4 or a Subaru STI 2.5-liter, we agreed that the FA20 fits the character of the BRZ and would ultimately be adequate to live with.

Also very livable is the interior. The BRZ Premium, the base model, comes pretty well-appointed with interior comforts like an 8-speaker sound system and voice-activated/touchscreen navigation, along with other perks like xenon headlights and a Torsen limited-slip differential. We really couldn't care less about the nav/sound system—as it's difficult to see and cumbersome to operate—but sing high praises for the huge centrally mounted tachometer, the comfortable button-free steering wheel and the low-slung, sublimely bolstered seats. A driver's car indeed and well worth the wait.